The next morning, Kaiba was gone.
Joey woke up late, twisting his face away from the glare that came through the window. Outside, the chickens were cackling. He sat up, stretched and turned to the empty space next to him in the bed. It was cold, and rumpled, but with a vague air of cleanliness as if someone had attempted to make the bed as best they could. Joey climbed over the space carefully, as if disturbing it would somehow destroy the remains of Kaiba's presence in the house.
He left the bedroom and wandered down the hall to find Téa standing alone in the kitchen, holding a half-finished mug of tea.
"Hey," he said. "No class today?"
"No." Téa pursed her lips and blushed as Joey reached for the bread.
"What?" he said, looking at her. "I know I'm in my boxers but it ain't nothing you haven't seen before."
"Joey!" Téa scolded. "It's not that, it's… erm… well, let's just say that I didn't sleep very well last night." She punctuated the last few words of her sentence with a very poignant stare at Joey, whose turn it was to blush.
"Ooh," he said slowly. "You heard us?"
"Kind of hard not to," she said. "I'd be surprised if the whole building didn't hear you."
"Oh wow." Joey had nothing else to say. He buttered his toast and ate it silently. "That bad, huh?"
"Well, maybe I'm exaggerating," she muttered. "But you promised me you weren't going to fight with him again."
Joey opened his mouth but hesitated. "Oh. Yeah, well," he stammered. "It got… intense."
He thought of Kaiba's ragged breaths burning his ear and blushed.
Téa was oblivious. "So I heard."
Joey screwed his face up at her. "Sorry."
"There's something else," she said, moving to one side to reveal a small item on the countertop. "He left you something. He put it in the living room but I thought you'd be more likely to see it here."
Joey put his toast down and approached the parcel. It was a small box, one a collector might keep rare cards inside. In it indeed were cards, stacked neatly and in good condition, save for a few creases. Joey looked closer. To his surprise, they were the ones that he had favoured in the duel he and Kaiba had partaken in the previous night. There was also a piece of paper taped to the box, written on in neat, clerical cursive:
Think about it.
Beneath the cards was the newspaper page with Joey's picture. JOEY WHEELER: WHERE IS HE NOW?
Joey glanced up at Téa, who was peering at him pensively, eyebrows raised.
"Well?" she said. "Think about it?"
"He…" Joey stared at the cards. These would cost him a fortune to buy by himself. "He wants me to…"
"To go back?"
Joey stared at her.
"How did you know that?" he spluttered.
"Doesn't take a Sherlock," she said, rolling her eyes. "I didn't put that newspaper article there. He's not subtle."
"No," Joey laughed. "He definitely ain't subtle."
"So what do you think?" she pressed. "You gonna go?"
Joey ran a hand through his hair, fingers tracing the edge of the box of cards with unsteady apprehension, as if it might bite him. "I guess I'll think about it," he said with a shrug, as though nothing could mean less to him. But when Téa turned her back, he slipped the paper with the stiff cursive into his pocket.
It rained all day. Joey lost himself in his work, forcing a front of cheerful gusto to everyone he spoke to. He did not look toward the car-park, or the thin, grey loneliness of the streetlamp, or the bobbing umbrellas trailing past the windows. He mopped, swept, laid tables, collected orders. Worked up a sweat as if it could somehow wash away the residue excretion from the previous night. When he wiped tables, he pretended not to hear Kaiba's scalding tone echoing in his ears,
"It's 'clean as a whistle'. You got it wrong."
Joey's favourite co-worker was in this evening, her blonde hair and warm eyes always a welcome sight. They play-fought as usual, but somehow her flirtatious nudge to his hip did not make him feel flustered the way it used to.
"It's all tasks with goals in mind."
Night fell. The gathering darkness extinguished the vegetation that surrounded the restaurant car-park. His co-workers, all but one, said their goodbyes and left for home. Joey waved them away. As he closed up, he found himself turning the sign deliberately slowly, peering through the rain into the light from the street-lamp. Nobody was there.
"You and Yugi created something."
He stepped back, gathering his mop to his chest, staring outside. The rain was so soft as it drizzled into the light. It looked like snow. He gazed at the sky. Soon it would be a new year and Joey would still be here, mopping the tiles. He had become stagnant again. How had it taken a visit from Kaiba to realise this?
"Somehow I'm always thinking about you."
Kaiba had always been the future. Innovation and change came like breathing to him, and he gave Joey the expensive cards like they were loose pennies. It helped that he was affluent but the gifted cards were more than an idle display of wealth bequeathed to a less fortunate friend. They meant change. Joey could see them now, stacked neatly in rows, new and crisp as untouched snow.
"We caused a stir."
He pulled the paper out of his pocket and, unsure why he hadn't before, turned it over.
All it read was,
Maybe you'll find what you're looking for.
Joey's hand shook. He felt his fingers slip from the mop and it clattered to the floor. He thumbed the paper, smoothing the creases from a long day in his pocket and read the line over and over.
Joey tore into the office, startling the manager who looked in surprise at his fierce, inexorable certitude.
"Hey," Joey said frantically. "Do we have a directory?"
The sky was a brilliant sapphire blue. The sun bounced off the glittering sky-high buildings and created fractured reflections their counterparts, dazzling the passers-by, who had clearly overdressed for the weather. They sauntered through the town centre with their hands covering their eyes, coats hanging idly at their sides. Joey shifted his way through the crowd, his head low, wearing a full hood to obscure his features. He threw side-long glances into the shimmering windows to seek his reflection, to check that his duel disk was still concealed beneath his hoody.
He made his way to the spot. The centre was clamouring. Heart pounding erratically in his chest, forced himself to take a deep, belly-filling breath to calm it. With strength anew, he peeked out from under his hood, searching the crowd.
Stood by the promenade, in the shade of an elm tree and surrounded by a spackle of admirers, was Yugi, a bright smile warming his face. Joey felt his heart swell in his chest because he could see Kaiba had kept his promise. Yugi spotted Joey immediately of course, despite his disguise. He looked proud as a lion, and Joey knew that he had made the right choice. Tearing his eyes from his friend's beaming face, he turned to look deeper into the crowd.
At the steps of his own building, flanked by security and a head taller than most in the promenade, Kaiba stood, unmoving, waiting. His long coat billowed out behind him like a cape. Joey found his eyes and they flashed in the light, bluer than the midday sky. His Duel Disk glittered on his arm.
So amidst the lunchtime shoppers: the mothers with their young boys who recognised Joey and pointed, big smiles on their faces, the seasoned old duellists standing in front of card shop windows, their faces alight in realisation, Joey stood straight and proud, facing Kaiba. He could hear the whispers beginning all around like a ripple, electricity of voice flicking between the buildings. He felt ten feet tall. He glanced at Yugi one more time, who gave a warm, encouraging nod.
"Kaiba," Joey bellowed, silencing the crowd. He whipped out his deck and slotted it into the Disk. It clunked and whirred into life on his arm. Across the crowd, Kaiba mirrored him and Joey did not think he had ever looked so powerful.
Joey held the Duel Disk high with one arm, his heart pounding in his chest.
"I challenge you, Kaiba! Right here, to a duel!"
All around him, the crowd began to scream.
The next day, the headlines read: JOEY WHEELER'S SPECTACULAR RETURN: THE DUEL THAT SHOOK THE CITY!
Song: Clear the Area by Imogen Heap
A/N: Thanks for taking the time to read. I know it could be stronger but I quite enjoyed bashing this one out over the course of a few weeks. Having said that, please feel free to critique if something stood out to you - I'm always looking for ways to improve my work, and I do enjoy reviews.
This story actually started as a writing prompt. It was 'through the window' although I couldn't tell you any more than that - it was a long time ago. I wrote the first chapter out way back when, and decided to come back to it now as a new wave of inspiration hit. I got a lot of feelings about this kind of stagnancy and I'll bet Joey could relate.
Thanks again for reading! I got a backlog of Joey/Kaiba stuff that I'm sitting on so if you like what I do then drop me a follow/fave. I'll be continuing The Great Rescue of Domino City at some point (yep, that one is mine. It's still on my old account but will be moved over soon).
Kind of angsted out for now so might drop something fluffier. Who knows?
Take care, darlings x
